§ 62. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that large sums, including hard currency, have been expended on visits overseas by Ministers and their staff when the business undertaken could have been performed by embassy staffs to the countries concerned, and that duplication and repetition of visits have taken place; and whether, in view of the need for economy, he will take action to restrict expenditure on such visits.
§ Mr. CallaghanNo. Programmes of overseas visits have been reduced to as low a level as can be justified without damage to the important interests which these visits serve, and all economies are observed.
§ 68. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why, in view of the fact that the information is readily 249W available, he will not publish details of all the Ministerial overseas visits made during the past two years and the costs involved.
§ Mr. CallaghanThe information is not available centrally. The cost of extracting it from departmental records and of collating the results would be excessive.